Western Province Professional Rugby (Pty) Ltd's new CEO Johan le Roux revealed that the professional arm will be renamed Stormers Rugby (Pty) Ltd. at a press conference on Wednesday at the DHL Stadium.
Le Roux said that the name change will not affect the names of the professional teams.
“The company name change will not affect the names of any of the teams that compete on the field.”
“The name change is to closer align our company’s corporate profile with that of our top team, from which we derive all our revenue. It also allows for easier differentiation between a professional entity and the entity responsible for amateur rugby, WPRFU."
“We found that the similarity in names leads to confusion, not just through their identity, but also their roles in the game."
“We believe a simple name change will take the first step towards helping both entities to establish their own unique identity to the benefit of both.
CEO Johan le Roux says the DHL Stormers are in a good position to convert their new investment into sustained success. DYLAN JACK reports.
Le Roux said the motive for the investors investing is to save the club and that the region retains the heritage of Western Province rugby.
“From my family’s perspective, the investment is funded from the philanthropic balance sheet. Ardagh, our Irish partners, see this as a community investment."
“It’s not profit-driven, it’s purely in the interest of rugby and what it means to the society. It is important for us that we can get to financial stability."
“We don’t have ambitions of becoming a big-money club. This is not a vanity project. It’s not funding continued losses. We want to re-invest the growth in revenue into the team.”